Bangalore - Goa : Route Queries

This is a discussion on Bangalore - Goa : Route Queries within Route / Travel Queries, part of the Travelogues category; Originally Posted by rk_sans
Blr - Tumkur - NH4- Hubli- Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar-Calangute is the best route. It is little more in ...

We have to attend a relative's wedding in November 1st week at a place north of Panjim (after Mapusa).

I am very familiar with the Hubli-Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar-Madgaon route having driven that few times, including a trip in June this year.

But, I would like to know, is there a better route from Hubli to Panjim/Mapusa? Or, is it better to stick to the Ankola-Karwar route?

I don't mind extra distance, my concern is the road should be good and moreover only my wife and I will driving so that is of essence.

I have never travelled the Hubli-Belgaum-Goa route except many years ago by bus, and I recall the road was very bad.

I will be driving my Fiesta 1.6S which has a very stiff suspension, so better road is preferable.

Advice will be appreciated!

The shortest route to Mapusa is when you go till Belgaum on NH4,then go into the town and take the Sawantwadi road to go via Amboli-Sawantwadi-Banda-Mapusa.However the road conditions on NH17 would be patchy(nothing alarming),also road conditons between Belgaum & Amboli can also range from good to slightly bad.

The other slightly longer option is go via NH-4 till Belgaum,then take the NH4A via Khanapur-Londa-Mollem-Ponda-Panjim-Mapusa.NH4A has been patched up and now since mining trucks are off the road,the road wouldnt go bad as fast as it used to earlier.

Had been to Goa in the first week of this month. Hubli karwar is the best route so far. Roads are excellent.
Dont even think of Belgaum. One particular section near Chorla has no road at all.

Thanks zteg!

How is the section after Yellapur and through the Kiriwati forest? When I last drove in June, that section was deteriorating in the monsoon.

EDIT:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

The shortest route to Mapusa is when you go till Belgaum on NH4,then go into the town and take the Sawantwadi road to go via Amboli-Sawantwadi-Banda-Mapusa.However the road conditions on NH17 would be patchy(nothing alarming),also road conditons between Belgaum & Amboli can also range from good to slightly bad.

How is the section after Yellapur and through the Kiriwati forest? When I last drove in June, that section was deteriorating in the monsoon.

EDIT:

Thanks Ranjit!

The NH63 from Hubli to Ankola is very good now.No potholes and wide enough to be a three laned road.However I would suggest that you do the NH4A or the Amboli route as roads are pretty decent.No point driving the extra distance via Karwar.

The NH63 from Hubli to Ankola is very good now.No potholes and wide enough to be a three laned road.However I would suggest that you do the NH4A or the Amboli route as roads are pretty decent.No point driving the extra distance via Karwar.

As mentioned by ranjit, road is good after Yellapur.
Take the Amboli route if you plan to go to north Goa since driving from Karwar all the way to the north can be a pain because the road is very narrow once you enter Goa. Not sure about the road condition though and it is a Ghat section too.

Hubli-Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar-Goa is the best route as of now.
As mentioned by @zteg, once you enter goa, it is narrow road but roads are butter smooth. So your concentration can be on traffic rather than looking out for potholes on road. This distance would be longest but comfortable one.
Hubli to Ankola through Yellapur is also very good, no doubt about it. Even though the distance is more this route, you won't lose out on time.

The NH63 from Hubli to Ankola is very good now.No potholes and wide enough to be a three laned road.However I would suggest that you do the NH4A or the Amboli route as roads are pretty decent.No point driving the extra distance via Karwar.

I don't have idea about Amboli route, but please don't take or suggest anyone for NH4A, that is the worst road may in in entite south-west india.
I have gone via that road in Aug,11 and the state in which the road was and knowing our Govt, I am sure that portion of land which is called NH4A will not get any facelift in close future.

I don't have idea about Amboli route, but please don't take or suggest anyone for NH4A, that is the worst road may in in entite south-west india.
I have gone via that road in Aug,11 and the state in which the road was and knowing our Govt, I am sure that portion of land which is called NH4A will not get any facelift in close future.

NH4A is unpredictable.The road has been done up is the latest update from someone who travelled the stretch last week.Now that the mining trucks have stopped,one can expect the road to hold good for a better number of days than what it used to earlier.

Just back from GoaBackward: Goa-Karwar-Ankola-Gokarna-Kumta-Honnavar-Jog-Shimoga-Tumkur-Blr. Road is very bad between Honnavar and Shimoga. After shimoga, lots of local traffic and pathetic. This route is best avoided.

How is the water flow in Jog Falls?

Is the road between Honnavar and Shimoga bad in certain patches or bad throughout? Also, kindly share what was the average speed you were able to maintain in that stretch.

I am asking these questions because I was planning to take exactly this route a week from now.

In the onward route , about 30 kms from belgaum to amboli were bad, the route all the way from blr to belgaum were four laned and excellent.
Return journey roads are all the way good and till karwar, its like moving in city traffic but after that, its excellent roads all the way.

Last edited by benzbala : 24th October 2011 at 18:25.
Reason: date correction

Is the road between Honnavar and Shimoga bad in certain patches or bad throughout? Also, kindly share what was the average speed you were able to maintain in that stretch.

I am asking these questions because I was planning to take exactly this route a week from now.

Once the bad pathces start after around 20kms from Honnavar, its the same till Sagara (Not sure after that since i dozed off handing over the wheel to my friend). If you are taking a car, then you can just forget this route. I took about 4hrs from Honnavar to Shimoga. Its just pathetic. From Shimoga the local traffic takes toll on you. And also the road is not that great with unexpected craters.

Take Hubli road, the Bankapur road may be few KM shorter but you will not save any time as such, and as you mentioned you are looking for max 4 lane, road till Hubli will provide you that option, and even after Hubli, NH 63 till Ankola is almost a 3 lane single road, so you can keep a constant speed with not much traffic.

Just to update about my trip, you folks were spot on in your recommendations, thanks a ton. While going I took the B'lore-NH4-Hubli-Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar-Madgaon-Panaji route and it was quite driveable. We stopped overnight at Hubli since the missus didn't want to strain her back with a continuous driving stretch, also since we were traveling with our dogs, we wanted to take breaks in between the drive.

On returning from Panaji, we wanted to go to Mysore. What we should have done was taken the same route back up to Tumkur and then the bypass to Mysore, as suggested. Instead, since we had some family friends in whose house we could stay overnight near Udupi, we took the Panaji-Madgaon-Karwar-NH17-Honavar-Kundapura-Udupi-Mangalore-NH48 till Maani-SH88 via Puttur and Sullya to Madikeri-Periyapatna-Hunsur-Mysore.

For people who're planning to take this route, a small piece of advice - DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, unless you're driving a Monster truck or a HumVee. In case you're traveling by a regular car like a Swift like I did, be prepared for howling kids, uncomfortable pets, groaning spouse, as applicable. The national ha-ha-highway 17, and the state hellway 88 are a joke in most parts, with potholed and crater filled roads.